Elections and alternatives to austerity

Sir, – Anthony Leavy (May 15th) informs us that there is no alternative to austerity. He may be right, although many economists and politicians disagree, but surely the problem is how austerity is unfairly implemented, hitting as it does the “easy targets”, the elderly, the sick and the poor. Ruth Coppinger (“Turn elections into referendum on unfair taxes and austerity”, Opinion & Analysis, May 14th) draws attention to the unfair double taxation of property and the spending of hundreds of millions of euro installing meters to tax our water. I have been badly hit by the levy on my already underfunded pension. So, yes, let us campaign, not so much for “taking less in taxation”, but for a fairer system in which those that can afford it pay their fair share. If that involves “turning elections into referendums on unfair taxes”, as Ms Coppinger suggests, then so be it. – Yours, etc,